Background and career
Bernard King (born December 4, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Washington Bullets. King is a four-time NBA All-Star, four-time All-NBA selection and led the NBA in scoring in the 1984–85 season. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 8, 2013. His younger brother, Albert, also played in the NBA during his career. Basketball legend Julius Erving, otherwise known as "Dr. J", said King was the toughest player he had ever faced.
Bernard King was born on December 4, 1956, in Brooklyn, New York. He developed his basketball skills on the playgrounds of Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. King used the outdoor courts in New York City to refine his game and as an escape from his surroundings. Reflecting on this time, King noted how the parks provided a space where he could focus entirely on basketball, teaching him discipline and motivating him to pursue greatness. King attended the University of Tennessee, where he had a successful collegiate basketball career. His time in college prepared him for his future in professional basketball.
At 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) and 205 pounds, King was an explosive, high-scoring small forward utilizing long arms and a quick release. King was a tremendous scorer. In the 1984–85 season, he led the NBA in scoring with 32.9 points per game.
After playing college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers, the New York Nets selected King with the seventh overall pick in the 1977 NBA draft, Months later, the Nets relocated from Uniondale, New York, to New Jersey and became known as the New Jersey Nets. In 1977–78, his rookie season, King set a New Jersey Nets franchise record for most points scored in a season with 1,909, at 24.2 points per game. For his efforts, he was named to the NBA all-rookie first team and placed third in NBA Rookie of the Year voting, behind Walter Davis and Marques Johnson. He would surpass this record with his 2,027-point season in 1983–84, earning the first of his back-to-back All-NBA First Team selections.
King played for the Utah Jazz in the 1979–80 season and averaged 9.3 points per game in 19 games.
The Jazz traded King to the Golden State Warriors before the 1980–81 season. Over two years, he averaged 21.9 points per game, in his first year playing alongside players such as 1980 NBA All-Star World B. Free, Joe Barry Carroll, and Clifford Ray and 23.2 points per game in his second year with the team. Just before the start of the 1982–83 season, King was traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for Micheal Ray Richardson.
